Effective July 2, the Japanese government is requesting electricity consumers to reduce their power consumption this summer. The service areas of nine electric utilities excluding Okinawa Electric Power are subject to the request. A power conservation target of 15 per cent or more relative to the maximum power consumption in fiscal 2010 is set for the service area of Kansai Electric Power, while different targets are set for other service areas: 10 per cent or more for Kyushu Electric Power; 7 per cent or more for Hokkaido Electric Power and Shikoku Electric Power; and 5 per cent or more for Chubu Electric Power, Hokuriku Electric Power and Chugoku Electric Power. While no specific targets are set for the service areas of Tokyo Electric Power and Tohoku Electric Power, consumers in these areas are asked to make general efforts to save energy.
The request is being made for the period from July 2 to September 28 (except August 13-15), between 9 am and 8 pm on weekdays.
To increase the supply capacity of pumped-storage hydraulic power generation, power conservation efforts are also encouraged during the early morning and night hours to the extent that such efforts do not interfere with the daily life or economic activities of consumers. In four service areas of Kansai, Kyushu, Hokkaido and Shikoku, preparations for rolling blackouts are being undertaken to provide against power outages and other unexpected glitches.
In the service area of Kansai Electric Power, which is expected to face the most severe power shortage, preparations are underway to restart units 3 and 4 of the Ohi nuclear power station (pressurized water reactors with an output of 1,180 MW each). Once both units return to full power operation, the government plans to relax the power conservation targets for the Kansai and other areas in central and western Japan.
